Good idea. I haven't seen the show, but in a situation like that you better have a lifeboat in case the ship goes down in a storm.

Any idea how they insulated the tent?

I found the story in Canoedogs' book at archive.org. It's part of a book called "The Backwoodsmen."

http://www.archive.org/stream/backwoodsmen00robeuoft#page/8/mode/2up

They called it a "four-season" tent, and it had a stovepipe coming out the top. They didn't show the inside. Wood (presumably for the stove) was nearby. No mention was made of how the tent was insulated.

I thought I heard "insulated" but I could be wrong.
No idea how one would go about insulating a tent other than pitching one inside another or building it out of lined material.

C.D.

Good post. I have been able to find several of the books you have mentioned in the last year and have enjoyed reading them.

The material of the tent could itself be slightly insulated - either foam or some "bubble wrap" type lining.

Then again, probably the several feet of snow would keep it decently insulated. Depending where it was situated, if there was a wind break, that'd help immensely as well.

Didn't mean to hijack (again), I was just curious.

I know that insulated tarps are commercially available. They use them when pouring concrete in below freezing conditions, ensuring a proper cure.

I've even thought of making my own insulated tarps. There are many situations where a waterproof layer with, say, R2 inside would be mighty handy. The only question is whether the inside layer needs to be fire resistant; that's a challenge.

A tent is more challenging in other ways. You have to think of moisture management as well as insulation. 'Course, a baby wood stove solves most problems.

Doug..good link to the "back woodsman"..i'll have to do a search for more info on DG,
i don't know about tents but in Korea back in 68 our 2 1/2 ton trucks had insulated covers that were put on during the winter.just puffy looking with plastic windows.i guess there was something between two layers of canvas.

With a wood stove you don't actually need to insulate the tent - just add 10 minutes to the time it takes to get a roaring fire going inside that stove and it is unbeliveably hot in there.

I'm not against insulating the tent, and any insulation will greatly add to your comfort level. But there is little actuall need to do so.


Without insulation the temperature will drop like a brick when the stove goes out. But if you have proper sleeping arrangements that isn't a problem. For me, proper sleeping arrangements means a sleeping bag rated for the outside temperature plus a comfortable safe margin plus adjusting my layered clothing to fine tune so I'm comfortable. Don't know what "proper sleeping arrangements" means to those trappers, but I can take a guess of wool blankets, fur and the like.


If you can't sleep inside something warm enough for the outside temperature you will have to wake up every now and then to get the fire going again. Insulating the tent will keep you asleep longer, but probably not through the whole night. You can also use tricks like hot rocks or bottles of hot water to keep you warm. Disturbed sleep is better than freezing to death or no sleep at all.


And insulating will of course greatly reduce fuel consumption. Probably not your biggest concern when your shack has burned down, but it could be in the long run.